Located just past the Cambridge and Somerville border, Basma serves breakfast and lunch. Befitting of its name—which means “smile” in Arabic—the space has a friendly atmosphere, with art hanging on the walls and a welcoming face behind the counter. On the surface, it’s a fresh new addition to the Camberville brunch scene. However, when you consider the context of all in which it lives and what came before it, you’ll unearth local lore.
Prior to Basma, the same location housed the restaurant Renee’s, a neighborhood hotspot for diner-style breakfast. For almost thirty years, Renee’s was the place to be on a weekend morning and when it closed, locals were quite concerned. However, the seeds for Basma had already begun to grow.
Basma’s owners previously ran Singabella, another beloved breakfast restaurant mere blocks away. Singabella shut down about ten years before Renee’s closed its doors. When the storefront opened up, the previous owners of Singabella decided to try again with the breakfast business. As a homage to the past restaurant, Basma still uses the worn white mugs branded with Renee’s.
So, Renee’s lives on, but this doesn’t stop Basma from shining on its own. Basma is halal, but pork lovers shouldn’t be dissuaded; their turkey ham was equally scrumptious. They expertly blend Mediterranean flavors into classic American diner food, seen best in their Western omelet, which was served with home fries and toasted white bread slathered with butter. The omelet was well-seasoned and overflowing with melty American cheese, caramelized peppers, and turkey ham, paired with pickled onions characteristic of a Mediterranean meal. The home fries, while undercooked, had a great flavor. But the highlight of the meal was hands down the shakshuka. Beautifully plated, the shakshuka will linger in your thoughts long after scraping the plate clean. It was flavorful and the eggs were cooked exactly right; yolks perfectly runny to dip your soft pita bread in.
However, their namesake french toast topped with bananas, walnuts, and apples, was a bit underwhelming. The steamed bananas and apples were far from the melt-in-your-mouth caramelized taste that the menu advertised. Additionally, the huge pieces of bread fell victim to too much sogginess on the inside. The steak and eggs were decently delicious, though the menu does mislabel the slab of meat as steak tips. You could say it was a mis-steak!
Outside of these few complaints, Basma serves a pretty delicious breakfast. There’s still much to be explored in their breakfast selection; they have several variations on an eggs benedict, bagel sandwiches, corned beef hash, and pancakes. As for lunch, their menu boasts a smashburger and an assortment of salads and sandwiches, though they’re also yet to be tested by a Register Forum correspondent. All in all, Basma represents the best of Cambridge local businesses: persistence, individuality, and a solid cup of coffee.
This article also appears in our June 2025 print edition.
